1
00:00:06,959 --> 00:00:10,396
Everybody. I'm Connor that doug, and this is

2
00:00:10,396 --> 00:00:13,261
the Bethel School District presents podcast. And oh,

3
00:00:13,500 --> 00:00:15,331
boy, do we have a show for you

4
00:00:15,331 --> 00:00:18,377
today. We're talking all about food. Doug is

5
00:00:18,377 --> 00:00:19,816
gonna head over to a local food bank

6
00:00:19,816 --> 00:00:22,372
to talk about a unique partnership they've entered

7
00:00:22,372 --> 00:00:24,824
into with some of our culinary students and

8
00:00:24,944 --> 00:00:26,780
all this talk about food got meat thinking,

9
00:00:27,019 --> 00:00:31,168
Doug. What was your go to after school

10
00:00:31,168 --> 00:00:33,336
snack. Everybody's got 1. I've wanna hear yours.

11
00:00:33,495 --> 00:00:35,085
Well, that's a fun question. I haven't thought

12
00:00:35,085 --> 00:00:37,073
about my middle and high school years coming

13
00:00:37,073 --> 00:00:38,663
home flipping on the Tv. So I could

14
00:00:38,663 --> 00:00:40,571
watch saved by the bell and having a

15
00:00:40,571 --> 00:00:42,176
little. Wanna after school snack,

16
00:00:42,891 --> 00:00:44,639
got out of pen and paper. Everybody's gonna

17
00:00:44,639 --> 00:00:47,046
wanna write down this recipe. You take

18
00:00:47,420 --> 00:00:50,218
4. After not 3, not 5, but 4

19
00:00:50,218 --> 00:00:52,603
salty crackers, you pull out the jar peanut

20
00:00:52,603 --> 00:00:55,068
butter, get a good covering of peanut butter

21
00:00:55,068 --> 00:00:56,420
on there as high up as you want

22
00:00:56,420 --> 00:00:58,225
it to go, and then you take a

23
00:00:58,504 --> 00:01:01,055
craft single, you fold it in half and

24
00:01:01,055 --> 00:01:03,229
fold it in half again to make 4

25
00:01:03,685 --> 00:01:04,185
perfectly

26
00:01:05,041 --> 00:01:07,847
square slices and you top your salty peanut

27
00:01:07,847 --> 00:01:09,842
butter treat with that. You go sit in

28
00:01:09,842 --> 00:01:11,278
front of the Tv and at the next

29
00:01:11,278 --> 00:01:12,555
commercial, you come make 4 more.

30
00:01:13,673 --> 00:01:14,072
Wow.

31
00:01:15,363 --> 00:01:16,079
That's horrendous.

32
00:01:17,433 --> 00:01:20,004
That's a crime against humanity,

33
00:01:21,336 --> 00:01:23,486
peanut butter and cheese. No, Doug.

34
00:01:24,139 --> 00:01:25,416
Who lets you do that? I learned it

35
00:01:25,416 --> 00:01:27,971
from watching you, Dad. Old family recipe at

36
00:01:27,971 --> 00:01:29,349
the boils, Hacienda.

37
00:01:30,525 --> 00:01:33,080
Well, good golly. That makes me nauseous.

38
00:01:34,295 --> 00:01:37,094
But I do share an affinity for saved

39
00:01:37,094 --> 00:01:39,494
by the bell. So that saved you. Okay.

40
00:01:39,734 --> 00:01:41,094
So that's all I've got going for me.

41
00:01:41,254 --> 00:01:43,428
So how about you, Connor, what? Was your

42
00:01:43,428 --> 00:01:46,621
after school snack go to treat. Well, after

43
00:01:46,621 --> 00:01:49,096
my big hull lou about how awful yours

44
00:01:49,096 --> 00:01:50,852
was, I'm gonna come off as a bit

45
00:01:50,852 --> 00:01:53,501
of a hip here. Because mine is maybe

46
00:01:53,501 --> 00:01:56,455
even worse, and I'm only slightly embarrassed to

47
00:01:56,455 --> 00:01:58,770
admit that I would go home. I'd hit

48
00:01:58,770 --> 00:02:01,818
the cupboard. I would grab a packet of

49
00:02:01,818 --> 00:02:02,615
top ramen.

50
00:02:03,333 --> 00:02:04,849
Would I grab a pot, fill it with

51
00:02:04,849 --> 00:02:06,843
water and make some soup. No, sir, I

52
00:02:06,843 --> 00:02:08,438
would not. What I would do is I

53
00:02:08,438 --> 00:02:11,171
would smash up that bag of top ramen

54
00:02:11,723 --> 00:02:15,551
pour the ms msg flavoring on top, shake

55
00:02:15,551 --> 00:02:18,343
it up and eat it as a salty

56
00:02:18,343 --> 00:02:20,098
snack. I have no words.

57
00:02:20,736 --> 00:02:23,619
That didn't the top ramen cut your mouth

58
00:02:23,619 --> 00:02:25,372
is made. It's. I feel like it'd be

59
00:02:25,372 --> 00:02:26,965
very poke. It was worth the pain.

60
00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:29,673
And I still... III

61
00:02:29,673 --> 00:02:32,237
gave up on that. Weeks ago. I don't

62
00:02:32,237 --> 00:02:34,228
ever get almost nice. No.

63
00:02:35,582 --> 00:02:38,449
Well, these questionable answers aside, I'm actually gonna

64
00:02:38,449 --> 00:02:40,217
take these with me and I'm gonna head

65
00:02:40,217 --> 00:02:43,328
out to Buckle Washington where our story of

66
00:02:43,328 --> 00:02:45,163
the day is going to take place. And,

67
00:02:45,322 --> 00:02:46,439
Connor, I'm just gonna have to leave you

68
00:02:46,439 --> 00:02:48,752
here. There's only 4 microphones, and I don't

69
00:02:48,752 --> 00:02:49,802
have room for you. Table.

70
00:02:51,866 --> 00:02:53,850
We are here at the market at Good

71
00:02:53,850 --> 00:02:54,247
roots

72
00:02:54,803 --> 00:02:56,946
Northwest in Buckle, and I am with a

73
00:02:56,946 --> 00:03:00,145
table full of food system experts. We're gonna

74
00:03:00,145 --> 00:03:01,821
go around the table, and all the 3

75
00:03:01,821 --> 00:03:04,056
of you introduce yourselves and answer our question

76
00:03:04,056 --> 00:03:07,579
of the day, your favorite after school snack

77
00:03:07,579 --> 00:03:09,723
growing up, and we're gonna start to my

78
00:03:09,723 --> 00:03:12,184
left, no stranger to the podcast, Scott Martin.

79
00:03:12,343 --> 00:03:14,805
Well, good morning. I, am Scott Martin. I'm

80
00:03:14,805 --> 00:03:16,729
the director at the Pierce County Skill Center.

81
00:03:17,763 --> 00:03:18,798
Please don't tell my mother.

82
00:03:19,832 --> 00:03:21,821
Growing up, I used to sneak the chocolate

83
00:03:21,821 --> 00:03:24,083
chips and the peanut butter into the microwave

84
00:03:24,138 --> 00:03:25,885
and then dip graham crackers in them. That's

85
00:03:25,885 --> 00:03:27,789
where all the chocolate chips went, mom. Sorry.

86
00:03:29,139 --> 00:03:30,746
I love it. Across the table for me.

87
00:03:30,985 --> 00:03:33,458
I'm Stacy Ser. I'm the Ceo of Good

88
00:03:33,458 --> 00:03:34,255
roots Northwest.

89
00:03:34,814 --> 00:03:36,488
I'm kind of a not your typical food

90
00:03:36,488 --> 00:03:38,243
bank, sort of food bank out here in

91
00:03:38,323 --> 00:03:39,120
Rural East Pierce.

92
00:03:39,932 --> 00:03:40,432
And

93
00:03:41,207 --> 00:03:44,792
my favorite snack was putting marshmallows in the

94
00:03:44,792 --> 00:03:45,929
microwave that just

95
00:03:46,719 --> 00:03:48,395
spurred a memory for me, Scott

96
00:03:49,352 --> 00:03:52,384
And making my own, popcorn balls. Okay. Making

97
00:03:52,384 --> 00:03:54,194
your own popcorn balls. That's a little more

98
00:03:54,313 --> 00:03:56,716
a lever than I got for sure, micro

99
00:03:56,771 --> 00:03:58,674
marshmallows. I love a good support anytime of

100
00:03:58,674 --> 00:04:00,259
the year, so that's a great after school

101
00:04:00,259 --> 00:04:02,819
snack. And over to Kelly, Hi. My name

102
00:04:02,978 --> 00:04:05,616
Kelly Fremont, and I'm the director of operations

103
00:04:05,616 --> 00:04:08,013
here at Good roots, and I wish I

104
00:04:08,013 --> 00:04:10,491
had something more sophisticated to say about an

105
00:04:10,491 --> 00:04:11,370
after school snack.

106
00:04:12,104 --> 00:04:14,421
Following these fancy pants with their microwave snacks,

107
00:04:14,581 --> 00:04:15,081
but

108
00:04:15,939 --> 00:04:17,638
I was the R crackers

109
00:04:18,496 --> 00:04:20,826
Cheddar cheese kind of person, stop it. I

110
00:04:20,826 --> 00:04:22,819
go to. Even now. Even now.

111
00:04:24,175 --> 00:04:25,849
So we used to put peanut butter in

112
00:04:25,849 --> 00:04:27,762
between... And we didn't use cheddar. We used

113
00:04:28,161 --> 00:04:30,883
craft singles. Well, yeah. That's if it it

114
00:04:30,883 --> 00:04:33,032
was a really lucky day at our house,

115
00:04:33,669 --> 00:04:34,544
having crafting singles.

116
00:04:35,101 --> 00:04:36,773
I love it. Well, before we get started

117
00:04:36,773 --> 00:04:39,178
on what good roots does here in...

118
00:04:39,976 --> 00:04:41,652
I'm gonna say our community, you all cover

119
00:04:41,652 --> 00:04:42,471
200

120
00:04:42,529 --> 00:04:44,604
square miles very much like the Bethel School

121
00:04:44,604 --> 00:04:45,801
district. You're in a different part of the

122
00:04:45,801 --> 00:04:47,806
county, though, but That's really exciting. Before we

123
00:04:47,806 --> 00:04:49,395
do that, Kelly, your name might be familiar

124
00:04:49,395 --> 00:04:51,223
to listeners. You used to work for the

125
00:04:51,302 --> 00:04:53,368
Bethel school district. So what did you do

126
00:04:53,368 --> 00:04:55,036
in Bethel? And what brought you here?

127
00:04:55,689 --> 00:04:57,365
That's right. I did work in the Bethel

128
00:04:57,524 --> 00:04:59,519
School District. I worked there for 4 years,

129
00:04:59,759 --> 00:05:01,515
and I was an assistant director in the

130
00:05:01,515 --> 00:05:03,271
secondary teaching and learning department.

131
00:05:03,923 --> 00:05:05,356
When I was working Bethel, that was,

132
00:05:06,788 --> 00:05:09,516
gosh that was my 20 fourth to

133
00:05:10,210 --> 00:05:11,006
20 seventh.

134
00:05:11,418 --> 00:05:13,009
I know the math sounded strange right there,

135
00:05:13,168 --> 00:05:13,247
But,

136
00:05:14,917 --> 00:05:17,700
years of, in the education field. Wow. So

137
00:05:17,780 --> 00:05:20,006
I did quite a pivot. I know that

138
00:05:20,006 --> 00:05:21,175
was the word of the

139
00:05:21,852 --> 00:05:23,365
last few years, but I did quite a

140
00:05:23,365 --> 00:05:24,958
pivot, and I decided to,

141
00:05:26,232 --> 00:05:27,507
well I was lucky enough that there was

142
00:05:27,507 --> 00:05:29,498
a spot to join here at Good roots

143
00:05:29,896 --> 00:05:30,056
Northwest.

144
00:05:31,189 --> 00:05:33,026
This is a community where I have been

145
00:05:33,026 --> 00:05:35,264
living for the last 30 years.

146
00:05:35,903 --> 00:05:38,300
So previously, I taught in a local school

147
00:05:38,300 --> 00:05:40,151
district. Here and these are families that I've

148
00:05:40,151 --> 00:05:43,104
known for a long, long time, and it

149
00:05:43,104 --> 00:05:44,381
was my pleasure to be able to come

150
00:05:44,381 --> 00:05:46,990
back to the community where I live

151
00:05:47,430 --> 00:05:50,229
and to work with people who I have

152
00:05:50,229 --> 00:05:51,829
known for a while, Stacey being 1 of

153
00:05:51,829 --> 00:05:53,529
them, and being

154
00:05:54,149 --> 00:05:56,524
of service here. So it was quite a

155
00:05:56,724 --> 00:05:57,941
treat for me to

156
00:05:58,397 --> 00:06:00,547
to change what I'd been doing. I love

157
00:06:00,547 --> 00:06:02,800
to think about that I now have my

158
00:06:03,176 --> 00:06:05,987
ad certificate. I have a national board certificate,

159
00:06:06,147 --> 00:06:07,665
and I have my forklift certificate.

160
00:06:10,302 --> 00:06:11,821
That is a very unique set of skills.

161
00:06:12,140 --> 00:06:14,784
I love that. Well, even just driving up

162
00:06:14,784 --> 00:06:17,091
to the market here at Good roots Northwest.

163
00:06:17,568 --> 00:06:19,080
It was very different from me. I have

164
00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:20,689
been too many food banks. In my life

165
00:06:20,689 --> 00:06:22,209
to do different stories. 1 was in the

166
00:06:22,209 --> 00:06:24,610
back of a semi trailer, and you kinda

167
00:06:24,610 --> 00:06:26,370
go in and there were there were shelves

168
00:06:26,370 --> 00:06:27,704
and very spa

169
00:06:28,381 --> 00:06:30,689
selections. Driving up here was really different. I'm

170
00:06:30,689 --> 00:06:33,316
not gonna give my, experience. Scott, this was

171
00:06:33,316 --> 00:06:36,118
your first time coming to the market paint

172
00:06:36,118 --> 00:06:37,872
our listeners a word picture. What did you

173
00:06:37,872 --> 00:06:40,743
experience as you drove up? So... It's really

174
00:06:40,743 --> 00:06:42,975
fascinating because I I was able to pinpoint

175
00:06:42,975 --> 00:06:44,410
the feelings almost exactly.

176
00:06:45,221 --> 00:06:48,242
When when... So I'm gonna... Well, I won't

177
00:06:48,242 --> 00:06:49,434
say the name of the store. But I'm

178
00:06:49,434 --> 00:06:50,332
your very basic

179
00:06:50,945 --> 00:06:52,296
shopping on the main drag.

180
00:06:52,788 --> 00:06:54,536
That's where we go for our Saturday morning

181
00:06:54,536 --> 00:06:55,092
grocery runs.

182
00:06:55,966 --> 00:06:59,064
And I always feel this very peculiar and

183
00:06:59,064 --> 00:07:01,049
very specific feeling when I get to go

184
00:07:01,049 --> 00:07:02,653
into a spot like a trader Joe's, Right.

185
00:07:02,892 --> 00:07:05,117
I think our listeners probably have an understanding

186
00:07:05,117 --> 00:07:06,548
of that feeling where you walk in and

187
00:07:06,548 --> 00:07:08,399
go, oh I'm somewhere

188
00:07:08,773 --> 00:07:09,091
special.

189
00:07:09,727 --> 00:07:11,689
Oh, that you're gonna have the things. Right

190
00:07:11,888 --> 00:07:13,977
and and walking into the market

191
00:07:14,351 --> 00:07:16,416
very much felt that way. Very much felt

192
00:07:16,416 --> 00:07:18,720
like I was walking into an extra special

193
00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:20,564
store that I was super excited. To shop

194
00:07:20,564 --> 00:07:21,845
at trying to figure out how how do

195
00:07:21,925 --> 00:07:23,284
I get some points and make this happen?

196
00:07:23,604 --> 00:07:23,845
Because

197
00:07:24,564 --> 00:07:28,004
yeah, just that very cool feeling of, oh,

198
00:07:28,164 --> 00:07:30,493
this is this is fancy I like it.

199
00:07:30,811 --> 00:07:32,322
It is... It... It it was a special

200
00:07:32,322 --> 00:07:34,151
kind of feeling coming in even from in

201
00:07:34,151 --> 00:07:36,456
the parking lot when I drove up Pat

202
00:07:36,456 --> 00:07:37,888
came up, and I rolled down my window,

203
00:07:37,967 --> 00:07:39,001
and she said are you here to shop?

204
00:07:39,334 --> 00:07:41,162
And I said, no, I'm here to do

205
00:07:41,162 --> 00:07:42,434
a podcast and so I got to park

206
00:07:42,434 --> 00:07:44,024
in a different lot, than, you know, the

207
00:07:44,024 --> 00:07:45,932
more important folks that are coming into to

208
00:07:45,932 --> 00:07:47,601
get their shopping done. And and walking in,

209
00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:48,396
it's not just...

210
00:07:49,126 --> 00:07:51,426
Spa shelves. There are full shelves. There's decor.

211
00:07:51,664 --> 00:07:53,489
There's a vibe here that is pal,

212
00:07:53,965 --> 00:07:56,920
and smile shopping cart. Kids. It was... It

213
00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:59,869
was it's fantastic. Absolutely. And before we move

214
00:07:59,869 --> 00:08:02,499
on, Pat actually mentioned something, She said, we

215
00:08:02,499 --> 00:08:05,378
have volunteers here. From your school district and

216
00:08:05,378 --> 00:08:06,886
we're here to do a story about actually

217
00:08:06,886 --> 00:08:09,109
the connection between Good Roots Northwest and the

218
00:08:09,188 --> 00:08:11,808
Pierce County Skill center, but our transition lab

219
00:08:11,808 --> 00:08:13,972
students also fallen tier here, which I found

220
00:08:13,972 --> 00:08:15,010
out Kelly you were telling me a little

221
00:08:15,010 --> 00:08:17,086
bit about that. So what's that partnership like?

222
00:08:17,245 --> 00:08:18,363
And what are our students get to do

223
00:08:18,363 --> 00:08:20,678
when they come out here? Students from Bethel

224
00:08:21,157 --> 00:08:21,976
Transition lab

225
00:08:22,687 --> 00:08:25,228
arrive here in a group, and they often

226
00:08:25,228 --> 00:08:28,485
work as cashier. They'll restock the shelves. They'll

227
00:08:28,485 --> 00:08:30,073
do all the kinds of things that make

228
00:08:30,073 --> 00:08:31,923
that experience that you just described

229
00:08:32,872 --> 00:08:34,468
the 1 that where people feel special in

230
00:08:34,468 --> 00:08:36,862
this beautiful spot. They make that a reality.

231
00:08:37,261 --> 00:08:39,017
I love that our transition students get to

232
00:08:39,017 --> 00:08:41,110
experience this place. And just being here for

233
00:08:41,110 --> 00:08:42,070
the short time I have,

234
00:08:42,710 --> 00:08:44,710
I've really enjoyed it Stacy before we started,

235
00:08:44,870 --> 00:08:46,809
you were talking about the origins of this

236
00:08:46,870 --> 00:08:49,858
idea of this Trader Joe's es

237
00:08:50,391 --> 00:08:52,777
atmosphere. Tell us about that. The concept for

238
00:08:52,777 --> 00:08:55,424
it was really born during the pandemic, which

239
00:08:55,481 --> 00:08:57,800
when you think about you know, times of

240
00:08:57,800 --> 00:08:59,650
crisis and great turmoil.

241
00:09:00,261 --> 00:09:03,143
There is this window of opportunity

242
00:09:03,754 --> 00:09:06,634
to rethink the norm. And I think that

243
00:09:06,634 --> 00:09:07,134
that's

244
00:09:07,514 --> 00:09:09,355
really the essence of the market we seize

245
00:09:09,355 --> 00:09:10,315
that opportunity.

246
00:09:10,955 --> 00:09:13,675
And instead of thinking about, well, how can

247
00:09:13,675 --> 00:09:15,434
we make a food bank that works better.

248
00:09:15,609 --> 00:09:16,325
For more people,

249
00:09:17,041 --> 00:09:19,826
We started asking different questions about the system

250
00:09:19,826 --> 00:09:20,622
itself. Like,

251
00:09:22,134 --> 00:09:22,873
what might

252
00:09:23,184 --> 00:09:24,241
it looked like

253
00:09:24,698 --> 00:09:26,871
if no child in our community

254
00:09:27,407 --> 00:09:29,001
ever knew that they had stepped foot in

255
00:09:29,001 --> 00:09:29,558
a food bank.

256
00:09:30,768 --> 00:09:34,047
And asking that different question and reverse engineering

257
00:09:34,103 --> 00:09:36,485
back from that vision is really what the

258
00:09:36,485 --> 00:09:38,312
market is. It is a place that...

259
00:09:39,203 --> 00:09:41,756
Extends great dignity and respect and value.

260
00:09:42,315 --> 00:09:44,868
I actually... When you do that and people

261
00:09:44,868 --> 00:09:47,519
least expect it, in social services and human

262
00:09:47,519 --> 00:09:49,299
services. I've noticed this very

263
00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:52,799
interesting phenomenon that we're not considering human experience

264
00:09:52,799 --> 00:09:55,212
in any of those spaces and places where

265
00:09:55,212 --> 00:09:56,329
we're serving human beings.

266
00:09:56,968 --> 00:09:59,544
But I am somebody from a high end

267
00:09:59,762 --> 00:10:01,359
private sector business.

268
00:10:01,838 --> 00:10:03,275
I'm where I worked in high end retail,

269
00:10:03,689 --> 00:10:05,605
where the human experience was held with such

270
00:10:05,605 --> 00:10:07,701
great regard that we had a different thermostat

271
00:10:08,479 --> 00:10:11,193
for the cope department so that nobody would

272
00:10:11,193 --> 00:10:12,845
get too hot why they're trying on cope

273
00:10:12,964 --> 00:10:13,363
Wow.

274
00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:15,596
And so it was curious to me to

275
00:10:15,596 --> 00:10:18,148
step into the nonprofit sector and see that

276
00:10:18,148 --> 00:10:20,780
those weren't considerations at all. And that even

277
00:10:20,780 --> 00:10:21,280
somebody's

278
00:10:21,737 --> 00:10:22,556
actual basic

279
00:10:22,867 --> 00:10:26,433
biological humanity of what they choose to put

280
00:10:26,433 --> 00:10:29,524
into their body was not considered as a

281
00:10:29,524 --> 00:10:29,762
choice.

282
00:10:30,334 --> 00:10:32,248
Right that anybody could have. You actually mentioned

283
00:10:32,248 --> 00:10:33,444
that there are some food banks where you

284
00:10:33,444 --> 00:10:34,561
drive up and they give you your bag

285
00:10:34,561 --> 00:10:35,677
of food, and that's what you're gonna eat

286
00:10:35,677 --> 00:10:37,511
for the week. Here It's very different. There

287
00:10:37,511 --> 00:10:39,346
are shopping carts, kids go in the shopping

288
00:10:39,346 --> 00:10:41,360
carts. And when they come around, they don't

289
00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:43,440
just walk out, there's a pay system. Tie

290
00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:44,559
tell us a little bit about that, there

291
00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:46,159
is a a kind of a credit card

292
00:10:46,159 --> 00:10:48,080
associated with this. In the design of the

293
00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:48,480
market,

294
00:10:49,053 --> 00:10:50,480
you know, I didn't have a lot of

295
00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:53,254
experience in nonprofit sector or in the food

296
00:10:53,254 --> 00:10:55,950
business, and I really knew, you know, about

297
00:10:55,950 --> 00:10:56,188
retail.

298
00:10:56,759 --> 00:10:57,498
And so

299
00:10:57,876 --> 00:11:00,031
I've also found it so curious that, you

300
00:11:00,031 --> 00:11:02,984
know, the food system in the Charity based

301
00:11:02,984 --> 00:11:05,631
food system looks nothing like. The rest of

302
00:11:05,631 --> 00:11:08,818
the food system that the public is using,

303
00:11:08,898 --> 00:11:10,650
you know, for a hundred years. Grocery stores.

304
00:11:11,049 --> 00:11:12,027
They actually look

305
00:11:12,483 --> 00:11:13,120
polar opposite.

306
00:11:13,758 --> 00:11:14,577
And so

307
00:11:15,209 --> 00:11:18,565
really the market took and and leaned into

308
00:11:18,565 --> 00:11:19,704
what a normalized

309
00:11:20,083 --> 00:11:22,320
experience might look like. And for a customer

310
00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:24,665
that's experiencing food and insecurity and visiting

311
00:11:25,119 --> 00:11:27,265
food bank for the first time. It can

312
00:11:27,265 --> 00:11:29,729
be tremendously trauma for a whole number of

313
00:11:29,729 --> 00:11:30,047
reasons,

314
00:11:30,620 --> 00:11:32,700
but then to feel lost within a system

315
00:11:32,700 --> 00:11:34,539
and a space and not familiar with it,

316
00:11:35,179 --> 00:11:37,759
becomes that much more, you know, compounding

317
00:11:38,460 --> 00:11:39,659
trauma en zoos.

318
00:11:40,475 --> 00:11:43,675
So what we opted to do was very

319
00:11:43,675 --> 00:11:46,875
simply for very little money create a system

320
00:11:46,875 --> 00:11:49,514
where people would have a membership card kind

321
00:11:49,514 --> 00:11:52,393
of like at a wholesale membership right down

322
00:11:52,393 --> 00:11:54,141
the street from here. Yeah where you present

323
00:11:54,141 --> 00:11:56,127
your card at the door, you do your

324
00:11:56,127 --> 00:11:58,565
shopping. You have your points budget on there

325
00:11:58,763 --> 00:12:00,826
you shop through our selection of foods, choose

326
00:12:00,826 --> 00:12:02,970
what you want, so no food waste happens.

327
00:12:03,604 --> 00:12:06,120
You can meal prep for your family, Make

328
00:12:06,318 --> 00:12:08,704
that it aligns culturally with what you would,

329
00:12:08,863 --> 00:12:11,589
normally select at a grocery store. And then

330
00:12:11,645 --> 00:12:14,031
you go to a checkout where you present

331
00:12:14,031 --> 00:12:16,535
the door card 1 more time. The cashier

332
00:12:16,671 --> 00:12:19,297
rings up, some of our bethel students might

333
00:12:19,297 --> 00:12:20,967
be ringing up and being a cashier there.

334
00:12:21,445 --> 00:12:23,680
Card and, you know, children are helping their

335
00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:26,321
parent shop and put food. It's a normal

336
00:12:27,169 --> 00:12:28,835
food, you know, experience.

337
00:12:29,803 --> 00:12:32,034
And you can see how relaxed people are.

338
00:12:32,432 --> 00:12:34,822
I think the true testament to that is

339
00:12:34,822 --> 00:12:36,256
when you say that we have a vibe.

340
00:12:36,987 --> 00:12:37,886
That vibe

341
00:12:38,341 --> 00:12:40,411
is a bunch of people operating in a

342
00:12:40,411 --> 00:12:43,516
space that not only they understand, but feel

343
00:12:43,516 --> 00:12:45,923
deeply valued in that space. That's the vibe.

344
00:12:46,243 --> 00:12:48,879
I love that. That's fantastic. There's canned food

345
00:12:48,879 --> 00:12:51,595
on the shelves, There is fresh produce. There

346
00:12:51,595 --> 00:12:54,009
are meals. That have been created by the

347
00:12:54,169 --> 00:12:56,169
Pierce County Skill Center, Scott. That's why we

348
00:12:56,169 --> 00:12:57,929
brought you in here, And this is really

349
00:12:57,929 --> 00:12:59,904
a question for the table. How did this

350
00:13:00,344 --> 00:13:02,262
connection happened between the Pier County Skill Center

351
00:13:02,262 --> 00:13:05,139
and good roots Northwest. The connection between the

352
00:13:05,139 --> 00:13:08,176
skill center and Good roots Northwest happened because,

353
00:13:08,975 --> 00:13:11,548
of k body cough, or coffee roast down

354
00:13:11,548 --> 00:13:12,607
in Sum Washington,

355
00:13:13,465 --> 00:13:16,262
the person who operates the roast is a

356
00:13:16,262 --> 00:13:18,100
member of the culinary arts advisory board.

357
00:13:18,754 --> 00:13:20,668
And he was in an advisory board meeting

358
00:13:20,668 --> 00:13:22,901
and brought to the attention of the instructors

359
00:13:22,901 --> 00:13:24,177
in the culinary Arts program,

360
00:13:25,134 --> 00:13:26,729
the... At the time, the Bonnie lake Food

361
00:13:26,808 --> 00:13:28,740
Bank brought us, to the table.

362
00:13:29,379 --> 00:13:32,600
Now I am a member of that culinary

363
00:13:32,899 --> 00:13:36,593
advisory board, and that is what has cause

364
00:13:36,593 --> 00:13:40,742
this partnership between good roots and the culinary

365
00:13:40,742 --> 00:13:44,049
arts program. And the partnership is 1 where

366
00:13:44,429 --> 00:13:47,069
we are able to provide ingredients for meals,

367
00:13:47,789 --> 00:13:49,809
and then the students and the instructors

368
00:13:50,269 --> 00:13:51,445
put together menus

369
00:13:51,883 --> 00:13:54,355
where they create meals that we then provide

370
00:13:54,355 --> 00:13:56,268
to customers here. And 1 of the things

371
00:13:56,268 --> 00:13:58,500
that I absolutely adore about this. And as

372
00:13:58,580 --> 00:13:59,936
I'm telling the story all over town.

373
00:14:00,669 --> 00:14:01,808
I talk a lot about

374
00:14:02,267 --> 00:14:04,824
the... And I... Have no real depth of

375
00:14:04,824 --> 00:14:06,363
experience with food banks, volunteered

376
00:14:06,742 --> 00:14:09,235
throughout my throughout my youth and different different

377
00:14:09,235 --> 00:14:11,475
places, but I really don't have the depth

378
00:14:11,475 --> 00:14:13,555
of knowledge. But what I... What you start

379
00:14:13,555 --> 00:14:15,315
to learn very quickly is that there's not

380
00:14:15,315 --> 00:14:16,754
much you can do with a 50 gallon

381
00:14:16,754 --> 00:14:18,447
drum of oats. You roll it out and

382
00:14:18,447 --> 00:14:19,724
run your families and say, hey, this is

383
00:14:19,724 --> 00:14:21,560
what you're shopping for or a 40 pound

384
00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:23,794
box of frozen chicken that's 1 big 40

385
00:14:23,794 --> 00:14:25,231
pound block. And so,

386
00:14:26,365 --> 00:14:28,044
1 of the first places that I became

387
00:14:28,044 --> 00:14:30,044
aware of the partnership was a very large

388
00:14:30,044 --> 00:14:31,084
box of frozen chicken.

389
00:14:31,884 --> 00:14:34,457
And so our instructor said, hey, We'll teach

390
00:14:34,457 --> 00:14:35,730
our kids how to butcher that. We'll teach

391
00:14:35,730 --> 00:14:36,685
them how to break it down in into

392
00:14:36,685 --> 00:14:37,958
primal cuts, and we'll figure out what we

393
00:14:37,958 --> 00:14:39,708
can do with it. And and from there,

394
00:14:40,106 --> 00:14:41,856
the the number of ingredients that we work

395
00:14:41,856 --> 00:14:43,461
through over the course of the year. I

396
00:14:43,461 --> 00:14:46,158
think the math that the instructors had at

397
00:14:46,158 --> 00:14:47,610
the end of the school year

398
00:14:47,983 --> 00:14:49,276
was somewhere over

399
00:14:49,887 --> 00:14:52,617
8. 1800 pounds of chicken alone was saved

400
00:14:52,617 --> 00:14:54,375
from going in the dump, and I know

401
00:14:54,375 --> 00:14:56,932
we delivered somewhere close to 1500 meals of

402
00:14:56,932 --> 00:14:59,170
all kinds of shapes and varieties and different

403
00:14:59,170 --> 00:14:59,865
things. So

404
00:15:00,783 --> 00:15:03,980
anything they get that they feel would work

405
00:15:03,980 --> 00:15:05,657
for us. They bring to us, and we

406
00:15:05,657 --> 00:15:07,096
put it in front of our amazing culinary

407
00:15:07,096 --> 00:15:09,342
students and say, Alright. What you're gonna do

408
00:15:09,342 --> 00:15:11,170
with it? And then they get to dive

409
00:15:11,170 --> 00:15:13,816
in and create high level high level culinary

410
00:15:14,032 --> 00:15:16,337
inventions and and ship them right back up

411
00:15:16,337 --> 00:15:18,899
here. It's it... It couldn't be better. It

412
00:15:18,899 --> 00:15:20,812
couldn't know. When you say high level, we're

413
00:15:20,812 --> 00:15:24,558
talking Northwest, smoked, salmon chowder and the ingredients

414
00:15:24,558 --> 00:15:27,045
for that, came from a really odd place.

415
00:15:27,284 --> 00:15:28,800
Stacy or Kelly, you wanna tell us a

416
00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:31,991
story behind that, Salmon? Sure. We are fortunate

417
00:15:31,991 --> 00:15:32,390
enough to...

418
00:15:32,964 --> 00:15:34,320
Come to the attention of 1 of the

419
00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:36,096
local and wildlife life officers.

420
00:15:36,793 --> 00:15:37,852
And on the

421
00:15:38,389 --> 00:15:38,889
rare

422
00:15:39,346 --> 00:15:42,544
occasion that he he finds someone fishing illegally,

423
00:15:42,704 --> 00:15:43,499
and they have,

424
00:15:44,135 --> 00:15:47,100
oh, say, for example, an 18 pound white

425
00:15:47,157 --> 00:15:48,111
cent king salmon,

426
00:15:49,084 --> 00:15:52,200
that they shouldn't have. He then con that

427
00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:54,836
immediately puts it on ice and brings it

428
00:15:54,836 --> 00:15:57,084
to us. And donate to the food bank.

429
00:15:57,322 --> 00:15:59,863
He's also awesome because he cleans it, and

430
00:15:59,863 --> 00:16:01,689
we are able to then move it on

431
00:16:01,689 --> 00:16:02,483
a little bit easier.

432
00:16:03,038 --> 00:16:05,460
When that happened last summer, I contacted

433
00:16:05,835 --> 00:16:08,938
chefs ben and Eliza at the Culinary Arts

434
00:16:08,938 --> 00:16:09,438
program

435
00:16:09,813 --> 00:16:11,802
and asked if they might be able to

436
00:16:11,802 --> 00:16:13,963
do something with it, And 1 of my

437
00:16:13,963 --> 00:16:16,506
favorite things about working with both of them

438
00:16:16,506 --> 00:16:17,721
is that they

439
00:16:18,413 --> 00:16:19,763
will say it to me we'll figure it

440
00:16:19,763 --> 00:16:19,843
out.

441
00:16:20,637 --> 00:16:23,935
So we... Sent an 18 pound

442
00:16:24,389 --> 00:16:26,002
frozen white salmon

443
00:16:26,695 --> 00:16:29,240
to Ben Eliza and their students, and they

444
00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:31,398
did figure it out. It's exactly what happened.

445
00:16:31,556 --> 00:16:33,300
You know, All of this is so deeply

446
00:16:33,300 --> 00:16:33,800
meaningful

447
00:16:34,251 --> 00:16:36,787
to us here all the stakeholders of good

448
00:16:36,787 --> 00:16:37,421
roots northwest.

449
00:16:38,229 --> 00:16:39,735
We're so proud of this program,

450
00:16:40,290 --> 00:16:42,533
and we share it, you know, widely

451
00:16:42,905 --> 00:16:45,538
with the community that we interact with. There's

452
00:16:45,538 --> 00:16:48,569
the beautiful community focus part of our customers

453
00:16:48,569 --> 00:16:51,440
coming in and selecting a meal that was

454
00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:51,940
made,

455
00:16:52,477 --> 00:16:54,471
you know, for them. This is a home

456
00:16:54,471 --> 00:16:57,028
cooked new Trisha meal that was made in

457
00:16:57,028 --> 00:16:59,407
our community and that is the community food

458
00:16:59,407 --> 00:17:01,708
story. But when you, you know, pull up

459
00:17:01,708 --> 00:17:03,866
a little bit and look at A very

460
00:17:03,866 --> 00:17:06,013
broken food system, you know, in the state

461
00:17:06,013 --> 00:17:06,672
of Washington,

462
00:17:07,445 --> 00:17:10,148
we're the sixth richest state in the nation,

463
00:17:10,705 --> 00:17:13,343
and yet a we are 30 fourth in

464
00:17:13,343 --> 00:17:15,567
securing food and waste 40 percent of the

465
00:17:15,567 --> 00:17:17,633
food that comes into the food system.

466
00:17:18,268 --> 00:17:18,768
So

467
00:17:19,158 --> 00:17:21,942
we're wasting food at a phenomenal rate. And

468
00:17:21,942 --> 00:17:23,931
if we were able to even have a

469
00:17:23,931 --> 00:17:25,943
small market share of

470
00:17:26,815 --> 00:17:28,654
prevention of that food waste from happening,

471
00:17:29,215 --> 00:17:31,934
it could move the dial tremendously in feeding

472
00:17:31,934 --> 00:17:32,735
more and more people.

473
00:17:33,295 --> 00:17:35,109
What that comes down to is

474
00:17:35,784 --> 00:17:38,187
functional programming that is really

475
00:17:38,639 --> 00:17:40,622
sustainable within the community, and that's what this

476
00:17:40,622 --> 00:17:43,184
is in a in a bigger way

477
00:17:43,494 --> 00:17:44,928
you know, our work with the Department of

478
00:17:45,087 --> 00:17:48,354
Ecology and the Pierce County sustainability and solid

479
00:17:48,354 --> 00:17:50,904
waste. You know, the number 1 thing solid

480
00:17:50,904 --> 00:17:52,736
waste in in landfills is food.

481
00:17:53,468 --> 00:17:55,216
That's what's creating the methane that is hurting

482
00:17:55,216 --> 00:17:55,851
our environment.

483
00:17:56,566 --> 00:18:00,221
So when they see functional sustainable community level

484
00:18:00,221 --> 00:18:00,721
programming

485
00:18:01,254 --> 00:18:01,731
like this,

486
00:18:02,302 --> 00:18:04,606
everybody's ears perk up because it is in

487
00:18:04,606 --> 00:18:07,068
fact a solution for that. The 40 pound

488
00:18:07,068 --> 00:18:07,624
block of chicken,

489
00:18:08,498 --> 00:18:10,801
a truck driver once that gets refused into

490
00:18:10,801 --> 00:18:12,886
the food system and it hits the I

491
00:18:12,886 --> 00:18:15,040
5 corridor with nowhere to go, except for

492
00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:15,439
the dump.

493
00:18:16,476 --> 00:18:19,608
And so this is a way through community

494
00:18:19,746 --> 00:18:20,246
logistics

495
00:18:20,942 --> 00:18:21,442
to

496
00:18:22,074 --> 00:18:24,090
completely change the narrative on that

497
00:18:24,548 --> 00:18:27,044
and deliver that right back into the community

498
00:18:27,422 --> 00:18:30,215
and create just a better last mile story,

499
00:18:30,869 --> 00:18:32,944
And, you know, that is something that will

500
00:18:32,944 --> 00:18:35,121
continue to develop and bring attention to

501
00:18:35,738 --> 00:18:37,037
from our organization

502
00:18:37,494 --> 00:18:39,091
on behalf of the skill center to the

503
00:18:39,091 --> 00:18:41,575
state level. There's this beautiful aspect of it,

504
00:18:42,053 --> 00:18:44,998
but it cannot be underestimated how sophisticated this

505
00:18:44,998 --> 00:18:47,146
really is. Systems are complex.

506
00:18:47,719 --> 00:18:49,555
I'm really glad that we have an educator

507
00:18:50,034 --> 00:18:52,269
with the... Kelly Fremont is, like the Swiss

508
00:18:52,269 --> 00:18:53,307
army knife of,

509
00:18:54,264 --> 00:18:55,941
our operation in terms of,

510
00:18:56,911 --> 00:18:59,157
really connecting these complex dots

511
00:18:59,609 --> 00:19:02,625
and executing them in real time. Well... I'm

512
00:19:02,625 --> 00:19:03,737
gonna interrupt and just say,

513
00:19:04,769 --> 00:19:07,580
Stacey, Stacy she's being very, very humble there

514
00:19:07,580 --> 00:19:09,420
by saying these things about all the rest

515
00:19:09,420 --> 00:19:10,619
of the people at the table for sure,

516
00:19:10,779 --> 00:19:11,340
but also,

517
00:19:11,980 --> 00:19:13,180
1 of the things that I think makes

518
00:19:13,180 --> 00:19:15,354
this work stacy a force of nature. When

519
00:19:15,434 --> 00:19:17,512
I discuss her another partnership. That's what I

520
00:19:17,512 --> 00:19:19,590
described. And she's moving Mountains to tie all

521
00:19:19,590 --> 00:19:21,908
of these pieces together and have an understanding

522
00:19:21,908 --> 00:19:23,666
about how they all inter link all the

523
00:19:23,666 --> 00:19:24,625
way down to the students.

524
00:19:25,279 --> 00:19:27,034
Down to the customers and having a deep

525
00:19:27,034 --> 00:19:28,710
understanding of what the customers need as she

526
00:19:28,710 --> 00:19:31,263
described, but these immense food systems that are

527
00:19:31,263 --> 00:19:32,561
on a national scale

528
00:19:32,873 --> 00:19:35,418
all the way down to the the the

529
00:19:35,418 --> 00:19:37,644
young child at the counter who's going over

530
00:19:37,644 --> 00:19:38,462
to get a Lollipop

531
00:19:38,916 --> 00:19:40,586
because they're super excited just to be here.

532
00:19:41,317 --> 00:19:43,865
And you pull all of that gigantic scope

533
00:19:43,865 --> 00:19:45,696
down to that tiny little place,

534
00:19:46,571 --> 00:19:48,800
and that takes that takes moving mountains. So...

535
00:19:49,454 --> 00:19:51,134
Yeah. And that's been... I think 1 of

536
00:19:51,134 --> 00:19:52,734
the fun parts for us at this skill

537
00:19:52,734 --> 00:19:54,494
center watching this develop is we're just a

538
00:19:54,494 --> 00:19:56,894
small piece in this mountain that they're moving

539
00:19:56,894 --> 00:19:59,465
here. So... Fantastic. I have more questions, but

540
00:19:59,465 --> 00:20:00,742
we are actually out of time for this

541
00:20:00,742 --> 00:20:03,456
week so we're gonna continue this conversation next

542
00:20:03,456 --> 00:20:05,292
week. Thank you all for joining us Kelly

543
00:20:05,452 --> 00:20:07,622
Stacy and Scott. We'll be back at this

544
00:20:07,622 --> 00:20:09,376
table in just 7 days time.

545
00:20:12,567 --> 00:20:14,561
Great interview, Doug. Love learning all that stuff,

546
00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:16,316
And what do we got planned for next

547
00:20:16,316 --> 00:20:18,880
week over. Well, not only have they revolutionized

548
00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:20,632
the food bank itself, but they are making

549
00:20:20,632 --> 00:20:22,624
things easier for families that aren't able to

550
00:20:22,624 --> 00:20:24,217
get to a food bank during the day,

551
00:20:24,535 --> 00:20:27,103
those folks can now shop there online and

552
00:20:27,103 --> 00:20:30,059
pick up their food at refrigerated lockers. We're

553
00:20:30,059 --> 00:20:31,737
gonna talk more about that innovation and more

554
00:20:31,737 --> 00:20:33,815
of the good things happening with our students

555
00:20:33,815 --> 00:20:35,584
at the kind of skill center. Well, that

556
00:20:35,584 --> 00:20:37,896
sounds fantastic. Join us back here in 7

557
00:20:37,896 --> 00:20:38,374
days time.

558
00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:42,409
Here's